![]() This is a comedy that finds poetry in unexpected places: the ancient cuneiform that Alma studies, and the invented past that Tom concocts to explain their romance. That Alma works with antiquities is fitting for a story that touches on age-old mythology (the creation of human forms) and memory as a defining aspect of being human. Karlovy Vary Film Festival Postponed to August Amid Pandemic They go from wariness to confusion to despair to self-revelation, and Eggert never overplays them, lending the chemistry between her and Stevens, especially in the final sequences, a memorable edge. In response to Tom’s attention, which can seem warm or ridiculous or cold with clarity, Alma’s emotions seesaw wildly. She’s defending herself too every step of the way, I’m Your Man is also about how single people are often discounted, their experiences and emotional circumstances somehow deemed “less real.” But a crucial shift in her attitude is revealed when she defends him against disrespectful treatment from a surprising source. Alma variously tolerates the nonhuman in her guest room, ignores him, and tries to arouse his anger, not to mention his programmed-for-performance genitalia. But there are big questions at its core, not just about human longing and identity but also about whether androids deemed capable of sharing our lives will have full-fledged rights as individuals. There’s no capital-F futurism in the way Schrader (whose helming credits include the series Unorthodox) approaches the material the story could be unfolding tomorrow or last week. Out in the city, he embraces the chance to act “like a person who wants things” by placing an order at a coffee shop, with gusto. (The outstanding production design and set decoration are fully in sync with the understated but expressive tone of the film as a whole, as is the score’s unforced mix of playful and poignant.) With fresh flowers and pastries and endless watchfulness, Tom maintains his focus on seduction. The reason he speaks German with an English accent, he tells her, is that she’s “attracted to men who are slightly foreign.”Īcross the lived-in clutter and disarray of her high-rise apartment, Alma determines to keep her distance. That’s his whole, selfless purpose - no species envy or power lust beneath the beaming facade. ![]() Hit or miss, there’s a childlike curiosity in the way Tom takes it all in, processing Alma’s words and reactions as he continually calibrates his algorithm to be her perfect partner. Still, in almost every instance of a gaffe in wording, syntax or behavior, Tom is instantly aware that he’s missed the mark: Stevens cools the high-wattage smile by a degree or two. The Terrareca facilitator of the evening (Sandra Hüller, of Toni Erdmann, striking a wry note between ditzy and officious) reveals this to Alma, and also confides that programming the robots to flirt is particularly difficult.Īs evidence of that challenge, Tom declares to Alma soon after they meet, “Your eyes are like two mountain lakes I could sink into.” His rumba moves take a similarly mechanical approach to sensual matters. The paradox is that many of those lovebirds are holograms, designed to up the sense of energy and romance for the humans in their midst. The singles-night event where Tom and Alma are introduced has a paradoxical throwback feel: It takes place in a vintage-style ballroom, with couples cutting a rug to Irving Berlin. The closest she has to a child is her father (Wolfgang Hübsch), increasingly fussy and uncontrollable as he sinks deeper into dementia. She has no partner, just a recent ex, Julian (Hans Löw), who’s a colleague and therefore an awkward presence on the margins of her workdays. Roger deems her the best candidate because, in his view, she’s the only truly single person on staff. She hates everything about the Terrareca company’s proposed product line, but her boss, Roger (Falilou Seck), is on the ethics committee for the android project, and she doesn’t want to alienate him as she nears completion of a years-long study of Sumerian cuneiform. An archaeologist at Berlin’s Pergamon Museum, Alma agrees under protest to participate in a three-week trial run of Tom as a romantic partner.
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